Guest Post from Keen Inspirations!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hey everyone, PLEASE give your warmest welcome to Sharon from Keen Inspirations. She has been one of my most faithful commenter's from the beginning and I love her for that! I'm so glad she gets to be my first guest poster!!!!!!! And I'm even happier that she chose an outdoor project for my blog. Cuz...when it comes to gardening and/or planting...it is a no go for me. I don't know if you know this, but there are bugs in gardens...spiders in particular. And spiders and I DON'T mix! ;)

So without further ado.....take it away Sharon......

Hi! I'm Sharon from Keen Inspirations and I am excited to be Nikki’s guest here today. Her blog is one of the first blogs that I found and quickly became one of my favorites! She has inspired me to see Dollar Store items in a whole new light. I’ve always shopped the Dollar Tree, but bought and used things to use as they were. I never thought to look at them as “how could I use this as a part of something else or give it a makeover to transform it?” Nikki has taught me how to do just that!

So, I am honored that she has entrusted her blog to me today. I’d like to tell you a little bit about myself. I am a SAHM and a MOM (mom of many). I have ten children, three of whom are married and blessed me with 3 grandsons! They are my treasures and a source of joy in my life!

Easter we were all together, minus one son-in-law who’s job had him on the road.

I’ve been a spray painter/re-purposer/thrift store addict for many years out of necessity. :) But blog land has given me a new perspective on creating for fun as well as function. Here a couple of my favorite projects:

My Coffee Corner Makeover:

Decorative Balls:

After I discovered Rustoleum’s Oil Rubbed Bronze Spray Paint it instantly became my favorite! I used it on my Coffee Corner Makeover. But now I think I have found a new best friend, at least for the summer! It’s Rustoleum’s Multi-color, textured spray paint! Great for out door projects! I used Desert Bisque for my “Faux Stone Planter”.

There are many other colors available check them out here at Rustoleum’s site or go to your local Home Depot! My new love though is Caribbean Sand and I’ve used it on the project that I want to share with you today…My “Faux Stone” Birdbath Planter:

With the warm weather here to stay, I’ve been turning my attention outside to my garden. I love to grow vegetables and flowers and decorate my outside areas. Outside decor is soooo expensive though! Spray paint and thrift stores to the rescue! I started out with the idea of a birdbath. My eleven year old son is an avid bird watcher and I am trying to create a bird and butterfly garden area for him. At the thrift store I found a large pasta bowl and a chunky candle holder.

Then I grabbed my “tools”:

I started out giving everything a coat of Rustoleum’s 2x white primer. Two things that I have learned about painting ceramic and glass is to spray it very,very lightly with primer giving it about two coats and doesn’t have to have the coverage that a final coat does. It just needs to give the paint something to grab on to.

After everything was nice and dry, I went over it with the Caribbean Sand….I love the texture and the color…I’ve run my hands over it more than once!

I’ve also found that with this texture paint that it goes on better and covers better if it has a primer under it no matter what surface you are painting.

Then I put the bowl on the pedestal and had a small birdbath, but it seemed to need something…it seemed empty.

I had an old plastic birdbath with a small pedestal in the middle, so I went for that look. I had on hand a part of a wooden candle holder leftover from another project (never throw anything away…you never know when you might “need it” LOL) and a small china saucer.

I dressed them up in Caribbean sand and put them in the middle of the birdbath.

Better, but the top still seemed like it needed something…I tried a bird but didn’t like it, I knew a fountain was out of the question (that’s another project) and I started thinking a plant, might work…so I called my daughter outside for her opinion and she helped me decide to turn the whole thing into a planter!

I went and found an old clay pot and gave it a quick spray of primer and paint. I put everything together and held it in place with, what else?, Gorilla Glue!

Finally, I made a quick trip to Walmart (the only place open with plants at that time) and grabbed some spring color to fill it up!

My finished product:

As the petunias grow, they will fill the bowl and cascade down over the sides...

In the words of an old computer game that my kids played “ I like it…I like it a lot!”

I apologize for the quality of the pictures...that is something I'm still working on!

So go search your garage, attic, barn and see what you can transform for outside with some texture and glue! If you do a project, I’d love to see it! You can find me at Keen Inspirations or out in my garden! :)

I’ve enjoyed sharing with you today! Thank you Nikki for the opportunity!